The best Italian midfielders ever
The best Italian midfielders ever
It’s one of the most successful footballing nations on Earth, so it goes without saying that Italy has seen its fair share of top midfield talent throughout the generations.
Here, FourFourTwo runs through the very best Italian midfielders, from mesmerising playmakers to no-nonsense enforcers and beyond.
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An adaptable player capable of operating as an attacking midfielder or a winger, Stefano Fiore won 38 caps for Italy between 2000 and 2004.
A Euro 2000 runner-up with the Azzurri, Fiore lifted the Coppa Italia with Lazio and Parma – as well as two UEFA Cups with the latter during their 90s heyday.
Capped 31 times by his country, accomplished defensive midfielder Luigi Di Biagio featured at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Euro 2000.
Regarded as a tough tackler (a reputation which his tally of 12 Serie A red cards would appear to back up), Di Biagio made over 100 appearances for both Inter Milan and Roma.
A right-sided midfielder also able to line up in a more attacking role, Antonio Candreva has turned out for some of Italy’s biggest clubs – most notably Inter Milan and hometown club Lazio, winning the 2012/13 Coppa Italia with the latter.
Candreva – who began his career in the lower leagues with Ternana – represented the Azzurri on 54 occasions, appearing at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Creative and highly versatile, Riccardo Montolivo was a key member of the Italy side which finished as Euro 2012 runners-up.
Capped 66 times in total, the 2007 Serie A Young Footballer of the Year made more than 250 appearances for Fiorentina before joining AC Milan – where he served as captain for four years.
Part of Roberto Mancini’s coaching team as Italy won Euro 2020, Gabriele Oriali enjoyed a distinguished playing career with Inter Milan, Fiorentina and the Azzurri during the 70s and 80s.
A two-time Serie A and Coppa Italia winner with Inter, the hard-working destroyer’s greatest triumph came in 1982, as he starred in Italy’s victory at the 1982 World Cup – in the lead-up to which he appeared on a postage stamp in the African country of Chad (the more you know…).
Born in England to Italian parents, Simone Perrotta opted to represent the Azzurri – and it proved to be a good decision: he won the 2006 World Cup with them.
A back-to-back Coppa Italia winner with Roma – the club where he spent the last nine years of his career – in the two seasons following that career highlight, Perrotta was an indefatigable box-to-box midfielder with a decent eye for goal.
A Serie A champion with Inter Milan and a Coppa Italia winner with Fiorentina, Mario Bertini played in the Italy side who finished as 1970 World Cup runners-up.
Capped 25 times overall, Bertini – who could also line up at the back – possessed a ferocious long-range shot and was a strong penalty taker.
Successor to Paolo Maldini as captain of AC Milan, Massimo Ambrosini amassed almost 500 appearances during his 17-year association with the Rossoneri – where he won four Serie A titles and two Champions Leagues.
The long-locked defensive midfielder featured 35 times for Italy, helping them to the final of Euro 2000.
Part of the Italy team which reached the final of the 1994 World Cup – alongside his namesake Roberto – 1992 European U21 champion Dino Baggio earned 60 caps for the Azzurri overall.
A well-rounded player who was generally deployed in a defensive midfield capacity, Baggio was a UEFA Cup winner with Juventus and Parma, making the majority of his career appearances for the latter.
It was only right that Fernando De Napoli spent the best years of his career with Napoli – where he won two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup, starring in the team captained by Diego Maradona.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the 54-cap Italian international – a multifaceted defensive midfielder – went and added two more Scudetti and a Champions League crown at AC Milan.
Born Miguel Andreolo to Italian parents in Uruguay, Michele Andreolo went on to lift the 1938 World Cup with the Azzurri, making it into the team of the tournament (having previously won the Copa America with the country of his birth).
A prominent figure in the legendary Bologna side which won four Serie A titles between 1936 and 1941, Andreolo also turned out for Lazio, Napoli and Catania.
A mainstay of the Juventus side which dominated Serie A during the 2010s, Claudio Marchisio won seven straight titles with the Bianconeri between 2012 and 2018 – as well as lifting the Coppa Italia four times and reaching two Champions League finals.
Capped 55 times by his country, playing a pivotal role in their run to the final of Euro 2012, Marchisio was an immensely consistent performer in the middle of the park.
Considered one of the top midfielders in world football during the first half of the 2020s, Nicolo Barella starred in Italy’s Euro 2020 success, earning a nomination for the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
Signed by Inter Milan from hometown club Cagliari in 2019, Barella had picked up two Serie A and Coppa Italia winner’s medals apiece by 2024 – as well as appearing in the finals of both the Champions League and Europa League.
A veteran of well over 400 appearances for Roma – where he won the 1982/83 Scudetto and lifted the Coppa Italia three times – Giuseppe Giannini was one of Italy’s standout midfielders of the 80s and 90s.
Primarily deployed in a playmaking capacity, Giannini earned 47 caps for the Azzurri and made the Euro 1988 Team of the Tournament.
Capped 29 times between 1967 and 1972, Giancarlo De Sisti helped Italy to victory at Euro 1968 on home soil – then to the final of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
An all-time Roma great, the classy deep-lying playmaker had two spells with his local club – either side of a successful nine-year stint at Fiorentina which yielded 1968/69 Scudetto success.
A world-class right-sided midfielder, Franco Causio was nicknamed ‘The Baron’ for his stylish approach to the game.
Part of Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning squad, the diminutive technician made the bulk of his club appearances for Juventus, helping them to six Serie A titles in addition to Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup success.
One of the main men in Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph, Mauro Camoranesi was a gifted wide midfielder with a penchant for dribbling and superb crossing ability.
A 2002/03 Serie A champion with Juventus, the Argentine-born Camoranesi – who won 55 Azzurri caps – also had spells with clubs in Mexico, Uruguay and Germany.
Another Italian-South American star, Luis Monti played for both Argentina – the nation of his birth – and Italy, earning the distinction of the only player to feature in World Cup finals for two different countries.
A runner-up at the inaugural 1930 tournament with Argentina, the combative Monti helped Italy to victory on home soil four years later. He also won league titles in both countries, among them four straight Serie A successes with Juventus.
Born in Brazil but of Italian descent, and having moved to Italy at the age of 15, Jorginho chose to represent the Azzurri at international level – and he played a major role in their Euro 2020 success.
Named in the Team of the Tournament at those finals, the archetypal regista, formerly of Napoli, won the Europa League and Champions League with Chelsea – before crossing London to join Arsenal in 2023.
Among AC Milan and Italy’s leading lights of the 90s, Demetro Albertini collected five Serie A winner’s medals and lifted the 1993/94 Champions League – as well as earning 79 international caps from 1991 to 2002.
A technically gifted deep-lying playmaker with great set-piece ability, Albertini was both a World Cup and Euros finalist with the Azzurri.
When you’re called “one of the best midfielders in the world” by Xavi, you probably are one of the best midfielders in the world.
In his prime, Marco Verratti swept up numerous honours with PSG – including nine Ligue 1 titles in the space off 11 years – and was a key member of the Italian national team, helping to glory at Euro 2020.
He’s one of the most decorated managers of all time – and Fabio Capello won his fair share of trophies as a player, too, most notably three Serie A titles with Juventus and another with AC Milan.
One of Italy’s foremost stars of the 70s, Capello was a tactically attuned defensive midfielder who earned 32 caps for his nation, scoring eight goals – including one at the 1974 World Cup.
Among Italy’s greatest ever attacking midfielders, Giancarlo Antognoni played a crucial role in his country’s 1982 World Cup victory (although injury forced him to miss the final).
Capped 73 times in all, Antognoni spent almost his entire career at Fiorentina – with whom he lifted the 1974/75 Coppa Italia and 1975 Anglo-Italian Cup.
A terrier-like player who must go down as one of the finest holding midfielders in the history of the game, Gennaro Gattuso is a legend in the history of both AC Milan and the Italian national team.
Included in the 2006 World Cup All-Star Team after playing a hugely influential role in his country’s victory, Gattuso won two Serie A titles and two Champions Leagues with Milan, among other honours.
Daniele De Rossi was up there with the best midfielders on the planet at his peak, representing local side Roma and his nation – for whom he won 117 caps – with absolute distinction.
Another member of the legendary 2006 World Cup-winning team, the 2009 Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year claimed consecutive Coppa Italia crowns with the Giallorossi – who he captained towards the end of his career – in 2007 and 2008.
Up there with the finest managers of the 21st century, Carlo Ancelotti was also one of the top players of his day, winning numerous major trophies with Roma and AC Milan during the 80s and early 90s – including successive European Cups with the latter.
Part of the Italy squad which finished third at their home World Cup of 1990, Ancelotti was an exceptional playmaker with the ability to line up in various other midfield roles.
Capped 44 times, Giovanni Ferrari scored 14 goals for Italy – and probably set up many more (it’s unfortunate that he played in an era when assists weren’t yet recorded).
One of the best players in the world during the 30s, Ferrari won the Scudetto with three clubs – five times with Juventus, twice with Inter Milan and once with Bologna – and, most notably of all, starred as the Azzurri claimed back-to-back World Cups in 1934 and 1938.
One of football’s ultimate one-club men, Francesco Totti was born in Roma and spent his entire 24-year career with Roma, scoring 307 goals and captaining them to the Scudetto in 2000/01.
Called “a symbol of our sport” by Carlo Ancelotti, Totti was among the world’s best number 10s in his prime, earning 58 Italy caps and playing a starring role in their victory at the 2006 World Cup – where he finished as leading assist provider.
With his deeply emotional, fist-pumping celebration after scoring for Italy in the 1982 World Cup final, Marco Tardelli provided one of the most iconic images in football history – and showed just how much the beautiful game meant to him.
One of the best players of the 80s, the extraordinarily well-rounded Tardelli, in addition to winning the game’s ultimate prize, lifted every major trophy on offer with Juventus – where he was a five-time Serie A champion and 1984/85 European Cup winner.
Having started out with hometown outfit Alessandria, Giani Rivera went on to cement legendary status during a 19-year association with AC Milan – where he wore the captain’s armband for 12 seasons and won three Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia crowns, two European Cups and two Cup Winners’ Cups (not a bad return, really).
A 1968 European champion and 1970 World Cup runner-up with Italy – for whom he earned 60 caps and scored 14 goals – Rivera was a supremely gifted playmaker and undoubtedly one of the finest footballers of his generation, picking up the 1969 Ballon d’Or.
Quick, skilful and tireless, Sandro Mazzola sat among the very best players in the world during the 60s and 70s, excelling in multiple advanced midfield roles. He starred in Italy’s Euro 1968 triumph and run to the 1970 World Cup final, notching 22 goals in 70 caps altogether.
The son of legendary former Torino and Italy skipper Valentino Mazzola – who tragically perished in the 1949 Superga air disaster – he spent his whole 17-year career at Inter Milan, winning consecutive European Cups under the great Helenio Herrera and four Serie A titles.
Never anything less than utterly mesmerising to watch, Andrea Pirlo possessed an enviable blend of creativity, composure and downright coolness (look no further than his Panenka in Italy’s shootout win over England at Euro 2012).
A multiple Serie A champion with AC Milan and Juventus, and a two-time Champions League winner with the former, Pirlo – who amassed 116 caps for the Azzurri, starring prominently in their 2006 World Cup victory and later being made skipper – provided the blueprint for the deep-lying playmaker role in the modern age.